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Original poster

If you're a size 12, what size is your waist (vintage clothes shock)

249 replies

careerchangeperhaps · 17/07/2021 10:50

I wear a size 12. I came across an eBay listing for a vintage C&A skirt. Unsure of year but it was made in UK so likely to be 80s or earlier.
It's a size 12 but on the label says will fit waist 24". It's been a long time since someone wearing a size 12 would have had a 24" waist my thighs aren't far off that.
Vanity sizing really is hiding how fat we all are, isn't it?

If you're a size 12, what size is your waist (vintage clothes shock)
OP posts:
Scarby9 · 17/07/2021 10:53

It really is.
As a teenager in the 1980s I wore size 10 or 12 at 7.5 stone and slim as a rail.
Now i wear size 12 and my waist is above the NHS / government's safe size. I am podgy. But back in a 12.

Geamhradh · 17/07/2021 10:57

Yep.
I am a size 12 trouser and my waist is 32 inches.
I used to be a 10 trouser and weighed 9 and a half stone. I now weigh almost 12 stone.

It's actually really concerning that retailers are allowed to do this. Main culprit since forever is Next. I can get into an 8 in some of their trousers. Hmm

coogee · 17/07/2021 11:04

Main culprit since forever is Next.

Their clothes have got bigger and bigger to the point that practically nothing in there fits me any more. M&S is another.

fedup078 · 17/07/2021 11:06

I went through a phase of buying vintage 70s dresses and the sizes are 2 sizes smaller than they are today
At a size 12 I'd have to buy a size 16

Perching · 17/07/2021 11:06

Joules is the worst for this. We are so much fatter than we think.

MyVisionsComeFromSoup · 17/07/2021 11:09

I had a 24 inch waist back in the day, and was quite snug in a size 10, more comfortable in a 12.

Now I'm a size 12 again in my bottom half, am at least two stone heavier than I was back then, and daren't measure my waist! Slap bang in the middle of overweight BMI as well.

karmakameleon · 17/07/2021 11:17

I’ve only put on half a stone or so over the years. As a teenager I was a size 12 but now in my 40s I’m a 6-8 depending on the shop. In quite a few high street stores even the smallest size is too big for me. Perfectly normal BMI too.

Getyourarseofffthequattro · 17/07/2021 11:18

I've got a 29 inch waist and wear a size 12!

I can't imagine how tiny id have to get to have a 24 inch waist in not even sure it's possible on my frame.

MareofBeasttown · 17/07/2021 11:19
  1. Though I used to have a 24 inch waist pre-children ( weeps).
ladyvimes · 17/07/2021 11:22

I used to have a 28” waist and wear a 10. Now 32” and wear a 12. I’ve bought 80’s vintage clothing in a size 14 that fits fine but some things labelled vintage size 12 are teeny tiny!

Simbacatisback · 17/07/2021 11:23

As an adult I was ill and post surgery weighed 7 stone at 5 foot 8

I was never less than a size 10 (early 80s). An 8 was too small.

Fizbosshoes · 17/07/2021 11:25

Their clothes have got bigger and bigger to the point that practically nothing in there fits me any more. M&S is another.

I found the same with next. My waist is around 26 or 27" (I'm fairly straight up and down with 32A bust) but I need a belt with next size 6 shorts or skirts which is ridiculous.

HumbugWhale · 17/07/2021 11:26

My mum found some of my old clothes at home from about 2001 and passed them onto me. They were all size 12, plain t shirts and vest tops and I actually thought they might be useful as I still wear a 12 now. They were tiny when I tried them on! Weirdly I am the same weight as I was then but having kids has left me with an awful tummy area, my arms and legs are still very slim. I struggle finding clothes to fit.

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 17/07/2021 11:33

I remember Levi's changing their sizes in the early nineties. I got a bargain on a pair of size 10 jeans in the factory shop because they were labelled as a 10 but actually an 8.

I look at them now and they are tiny

Girlmum89 · 17/07/2021 11:38

I’m a size 12, my waist is 29 inches

Astrabees · 17/07/2021 11:42

I have some of my mother's old clothes from the sixties and seventies. She was 5'4" , 8 stone 10lb and was a size 14. I am 9st 13lb 5'3" and a size 10 in most makes.

Zerogravity · 17/07/2021 11:42

I still have some M & S clothes from 20 years ago and I was a size 12. Now, after several babies and a lot of plumper I am...a size 12, sometimes a 10.

jihhy · 17/07/2021 11:43

I don't think it's just vanity sizing, people's shapes have changed & bone structures are bigger. My mum has a smaller waist then me but I am considerably taller & weigh less then her.

MichaelGovesBeard · 17/07/2021 11:45

@Fizbosshoes

Their clothes have got bigger and bigger to the point that practically nothing in there fits me any more. M&S is another.

I found the same with next. My waist is around 26 or 27" (I'm fairly straight up and down with 32A bust) but I need a belt with next size 6 shorts or skirts which is ridiculous.

Can I be the first to suggest that you’re maybe wearing the wrong size bra? Look on www.booborbust.com. I’m a 32 back and a generous modern sized 14, by way of comparison.
jihhy · 17/07/2021 11:45

I've got a 29 inch waist and wear a size 12!

Same although admittedly I don't shop in the shops mentioned above.

I did have a 24" waist as a teen but I had a BMI of about 17 then.

Potteringshed · 17/07/2021 11:48

It's not just fat - your average person has gotten taller and broader as well. My grandmother and great aunt were both 5' tall, 5'2" tall (born before WW1, raised between the wars), my mother was 5'6" tall, I'm 5'8" tall which would have been outrageously tall pre War. I'm just not built for a 24 inch waist, but I know I have very low body fat (was a competitive athlete, still train a lot). In general, taller and broader people are just a lot more common.

neroforte · 17/07/2021 11:48

i’m a size 10/12 and i have a 28” waist, i have primark shorts which are a size 10 and a bit tight unless it’s in the morning before eating anything, but i have a size 12 primark shorts and they are way too loose.

Garfunkle · 17/07/2021 11:50

I’m size 12 (in most shops). Size 30” waist. Size 10 in New Look and M&S. I was a size 10 in my younger days. I have never been 24” waist though.

KatyMac · 17/07/2021 11:52

And it's proportions too

Making up vintage patterns is tricky and the buat:waist:hips ratio is all off

Getyourarseofffthequattro · 17/07/2021 11:53

@Potteringshed

It's not just fat - your average person has gotten taller and broader as well. My grandmother and great aunt were both 5' tall, 5'2" tall (born before WW1, raised between the wars), my mother was 5'6" tall, I'm 5'8" tall which would have been outrageously tall pre War. I'm just not built for a 24 inch waist, but I know I have very low body fat (was a competitive athlete, still train a lot). In general, taller and broader people are just a lot more common.
This is reassuring, competitive athlete I am not, but I'm not overweight and I would look emaciated with a 24 inch waist. Even at my smallest I dont think my waist was that small. I am trying to lose about half a stone for my wedding. It till be interested to see what my waist measurement is when I am at my "best".